Sports today have become increasingly complex and specialized and the players that participate in modern day sports are generally highly skilled. Amongst the many sports played today, hockey has become highly specialized and requires specialized skills to play at all levels. One specialized skill relates to the ability to control a game element (e.g. a puck or a ball) during play, also known as stick handling. Stick handling involves the manipulation of a hockey stick to control the game element as the hockey player moves about on the playing surface. For example, by moving an ice hockey stick when playing ice hockey, a hockey player can use the blade of the stick to control the movement of a puck on the ice surface. Stick handling is generally an important skill for shooting, passing, receiving, and generally controlling possession of the game element.
According to some stick handling techniques, hockey players are taught to use their upper hand as a control hand to control the angle and rotational position of the blade of the hockey stick to move the puck or ball, while the lower hand is used as a directional hand to change the overall orientation of the stick without rotating the stick. There is a need in the art for improved apparatus and methods for training hockey players.
Conventional hockey training devices exist in the art and take many forms. The hockey training devices can include for example hockey nets with selected barriers formed thereon in the shape of a goalie to help players practice their shooting skills. Other devices include hockey pucks with selected features that players can use during practice as well as specialized sticks for use in stick handling drills.
In the past, it has been recognized that there exists a need for an apparatus or device to facilitate the very real needs of a hockey player to enhance the player's skills in the art of stick handling, passing, and receiving, and to improve the reflexes of the player when manipulating a hockey puck for controlling the puck with speed and accuracy. However, most conventional hockey training devices are not designed for improving reflex action but more particularly address goal shooting and are usually complicated devices.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a compact, simple hockey training device for enhancing a hockey player's skills in the art of stick handling, passing and receiving, and to improve their hockey puck control with speed and accuracy.